Rhodie Lorenz and Amy Hochhauser’s partnership in JoyRide began as a “blind date.”
A business consultant introduced Rhodie — who had fitness expertise– and Amy, whose background was background was in business and law.
Their skill sets meshed. They opened their joyfully named cycling studio in 2011. It pedaled past all of Rhodie’s expectations, expanding to 7 locations.
Clients and instructors formed close bonds. The studios became integral parts of local communities, hosting fundraisers and contributing to any cause, whenever asked.
But the pandemic, combined with the rise of national chains, forced JoyRide to close in 2022.
Now Rhodie — whose first career was as a high school English teacher, after earning a master’s in education at Stanford — is ready for her next act.
The Westport resident of 2 decades is combining her interest in fitness, her talent for teaching, and her certification in executive leadership coaching.
The result is a coaching business that builds confidence in leaders of all kinds, as well as athletes of all types.
Rhodie is going beyond the studio, she says. “Physical strength leads to mental strength.”
Rhodie Lorenz, at JoyRide.
Her certification course, done remotely through Georgetown University, included a wide variety of students, from diplomats and military personnel to business executives.
She was the only student with a fitness background. She realized that many of the leadership skills she was building could also be applied to athletes.
Her 3 sons had all run at Staples High School. Two competed collegiately, at Middlebury and Washington University.
Last fall, Rhodie began working remotely with runners at Cornell and Syracuse.
“I was surprised at how little support they had, even at the D-I level,” she says.
“Coaches were focused on athletic performance. They didn’t have a lot of time for the mental side.”
But, she notes, there are parallelsl between physical and mental fitness.
“Athletes are dedicated to the gym. They do their reps, they run every day. Mental fitness also requires repetitions, and habit building.”
Rhodie Lorenz
There are countless books about developing mental toughness. But, Rhodie says, “there is a gap in how you actually apply that knowledge to your life.”
Two of the runners she worked with were injured. One had lost confidence.
“We broke down what was in her head,” Rhodie explains. The goal was to anticipate her “mind chatter” before a race: “Everyone is faster than me.” Or, “I didn’t get enough sleep.”
Being prepared for negative talk means it’s less scary to hear. Rhodie helped the runner prepare a script: “I’ve prepared well … My strides are excellent…”
Even if the woman did not win every race, Rhodie says, she had the tools to compete confidently.
Rhodie looks forward to working with younger athletes. She knows the pressures they feel — academic, athletic, peers, parents — and can help them their performance, as well as building life skills.
She points to an athlete whose coach does not believe in her. “We can’t control other people’s behavior,” Rhodie says. “But by focusing on what we can control, we’re prepared for, say, a boss later on we don’t see eye to ey with.
“We have to take responsibility for our own actions. We can’t rely on other people for our success.”
(To learn more about Rhodie Lorenz’s mental performance coaching for athletes and high performers, click here. Her email is rhodie@rhodielorenz.com.)
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JoyRide was a lifesaver — physically and mentally — for many Westporters during COVID.
